


Witchlands

by tdctracy



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Bounty Hunters, Curses, Dark Fantasy, Dark Magic, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Magic, Mentions of Blood, Reincarnation, Scythewielder, Slow Burn, Witch Hunters, Witchcraft, Witches, bloodwitch, taegyu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:34:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28907178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tdctracy/pseuds/tdctracy
Summary: “You are an immortal, witch. You do not just die.”“No, no, I don’t think you understand, hero.” Beomgyu mused, and held the scythe against the bounty hunter’s throat. He lifted his chin with the blade, his breath hitched as it scalded his skin at the slightest touch.And the bloodwitch whispered his curse.“Defeat me, and I would gladly die for you.”In which Beomgyu is one of the strongest bloodwitches alive and Taehyun is the scythewielder coming after his head for bounty.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu & Kang Taehyun, Choi Beomgyu/Kang Taehyun
Comments: 12
Kudos: 89





	Witchlands

♤

“You scythewielders are always the same.”

The bloodwitch crooned at him, amusingly, and continued, “So proud of playing hero, until you’re knocking at death’s door.”

Taehyun glared up at him, jaw clenched, tasting copper on his dry mouth. He was on top of a clocktower, forced on his knees, tied down by thick ropes that tightened every time he fought against the restraint. His knuckles turned white, his breathing became shallow, and his face churned under the spell.

The waning gibbous moon peeked through the clouds, illuminating the witch's face under the faintest light in the blanket of darkness.

“You are nothing but a weakling, hero.”

Beomgyu crouched down. He grabbed a fistful of Taehyun’s hair, and pulled it back, lips pressing against his ear, “I will offer you a deal.”

The witch shoved his face aside, facing towards the skyline. Out of nowhere, red summoning circles twinkled in the dark, and one by one, silhouettes appeared out of them. At the sight, Taehyun almost spat at the witch. He had held civilians captive, blindfolded and gagged, levitating ten thousand feet up in the air. 

Beomgyu breathed into his ear.

“You get to choose who makes it out alive and who dies.”

The spellcaster stepped back, picking up Taehyun’s long forgotten warscythe from the ground, and placed it against his back. Beomgyu smiled down at him. His crown of thorns looked like a halo on his head and the symbols etched on his pale skin bled into a lustrous red under the twilight firmament. 

“Just kill me instead."

“I don’t think so, hero. That wasn’t the deal.” The witch cut him off, and black smoke started swirling around him, “Now, choose, or I will spare no one.”

Taehyun’s eyes darted to the hostages, and back to Beomgyu, who showed no remorse, no empathy. His white hair framed the bleak gray eyes of an executioner. Taehyun spat, each word heavy with grit.

“Over my dead body.” 

The witch flinched, and his expression turned dull, “How much was the bounty for my head?”

“What does it matter to you?” Taehyun glared, “I will have you burned down on your pyre.”

Beomgyu sighed in defeat, rolling his eyes.

”I’m assuming that you are the most stubborn one of all the bounty hunters out there.” He begrudged, and with a flick of his wrists, the hostages gravitated towards the tower.

“W-what are you doing?” Taehyun stared at the hostages, perplexity on his face, as they slumped against the floor, their shackles evaporated into thin air, finally out of harm’s way. 

“Let me tell you a secret, hero. You could never have won against me even if you tried. I would have killed you by now if I wanted to.” Beomgyu said, as a cloud of red earth loomed around him. “There’s a large bounty on my head, isn’t that right?”

Taehyun bucked up from the restraints, but he could feel himself being pulled down by a tremendous power as he kneeled down. 

“That’s why I’m offering you another chance to fulfill your creed.” said Beomgyu, lowering the ivory snaith in his hands, “Come back to me, hero.”

“What?”

“Come back to me until you have proven your worth. You shall not rest until you have conquered me – my mind, my body and my soul.”

“You are an immortal, witch. You do not just die.” 

“No, no, I don’t think you understand, hero.” Beomgyu mused, and held the scythe against his throat. Beomgyu lifted his chin with the blade, his breath hitched as it scalded his skin at the slightest touch. 

And the bloodwitch whispered his curse.

“Defeat me, and I would gladly  _ die _ for you.”

♤

“Oh, you’re back already?” 

Beomgyu was standing atop a dais of the guild hall, staring down at the bounty hunter, shrouded by his white hooded cloak, pallid as a phantom. His crescent-shaped scythe glistened under the moon, and death melts away from his touch. As though he was the grim reaper himself.

“And here I was thinking that you’ve already forgotten about me.” said Beomgyu.

A huge cobweb sprawled the entire hall, and a gargantuan spider came into view, extruding silk from its spinnerets, and on the center of the spindle, was a woman, unconscious, constrained to the web.

“Unhand her.” Taehyun hissed.

“I’m afraid I cannot do that. The arachnid has already decided its next meal.” Beomgyu grimaced, levitating down, and alights on top of a monument.

“Unhand her.” He repeated, which earned a scowl from Beomgyu.

Beomgyu lifted his hand, and a shadow of black appeared on his palm, morphing into a dense singularity.

“No.”

The shadow reformed and solidified into an animal skeleton. Mangled limbs grew out of its carcass, partly covered by hairless skin, patches of exposed bone swelled from its necrotic flesh. Its eyes burned deep red as it bared its teeth, and from its throat came a deep, rumbling, growl; one that could entrap a human in a labyrinth of nightmares forever.

He had summoned a hellhound. 

“Attack him.”

The hellspawn charged towards Taehyun at assault speed, flashing its sharp and jagged fangs. The white cloak evaded, and pursued his attack, striking it on his ribs before leaping away with one foot. He felt the cold wall against his back when he landed. 

The dark entity inched closer, spinning in circles, and trampled down.

He was cornered. 

He had angered the beast. It was emitting an aura so overwhelming that the air around him grew heavy. He saw it reared up, pounding the dirt, and it lunged at him. He countered and brought his scythe sideward, and slashed it down. The hound dodged it, and it leapt from its hindmost legs, catching him off guard.

It tackled him to the ground. Taehyun let out a groan of pain as it sank its teeth on his right arm, the bite as cold as the grave.

“You can barely even get through my hound.”

The witch bickered mockingly.

“Release.” 

The hellspawn bared its teeth once more, and released him from its hold, howling. Taehyun staggered back, then dropped down into a kneeling position, writhing from the abhorrent pain. He attempted to stand up, clutching the wound on his arm, but his legs gave way and he slumped back to his knees and doubled over.

“You are truly an abomination, hero.” The bloodwitch crooned. Taehyun tried to get up but he could feel his bare flesh rotting away. He couldn't feel his body, denumbed to feel nothing but throbbing pain.

Beomgyu chuckles, “Your blood will now succumb to my venom, hero.”

The hellhound snarled its teeth at its prey, seething.

“Silence!”

Beomgyu lashed out at the hound, and it cowers away, whimpering. He turned back to Taehyun, humming softly.

“I remember the last hound who disobeyed me had lost more than its tongue.”

“You a-are ruthless.” Taehyun coughs out, and his mind slowly faded into black as the pain consumed his body.

“Truly.” Beomgyu inched closer to him. Taehyun could feel black waves dilating inward from the edge of his vision, and soon, he lost consciousness. Beomgyu motions his finger, and the hellhound, as well as the arachnid, disappeared from his view.

Beomgyu was now standing over him. He crouches down, gently brushing his hair. The rotting on his wound faded away, the viscous blood dissipated and the bite marks closed completely.

Beomgyu breathes, “Truly, I am.” 

♤

It was always like this.

The great double doors of the coven flung open to reveal the bounty hunter, bearing a smile and a moonsnaith on his back, and Beomgyu would anticipate him every time. 

Taehyun would come back to his church every week. He would duel with the salem witch, who was sitting on his throne, one leg over the other, patiently waiting for him. The coven was dim, filled with greystone statues, old caricature, and rows of candles that ebbed upon hollow skulls, casting an eerie red glow on the altar.

“Missed me?” said Beomgyu, looking up from the chalice on his hand. 

He bit his lip and dissolved his shadows, manifesting all manner of creatures for him, carrying the personification of the afterlife. He spawned them to do his bidding, as they attacked Taehyun. Beomgyu would watch them, fight to the death, and Taehyun would be covered by gashes and grazes by the break of dawn.

Time passed, and soon, he was able to subdue them. Barely, though, but it was still progress.

Beomgyu was, however, entertained. It had satiated him from his boredom, too, watching at the bounty hunter, desperately fending off the creature's attacks.

This went on for months. That is, until, through reasons unknown, Beomgyu’s henchmen would just let him through without a fight. Once, Beomgyu had even witnessed him tame the beasts. Beomgyu was spurred out of spite, and he was left to do all the work by himself.

Though, almost every time, Taehyun could not even injure the witch, even after defeating the pawns in his king’s game. The bounty hunter would suffer from his wrath, and the witch would always leave unscathed.

Taehyun groaned as he was pummeled down to the cobblestone floor by Beomgyu’s spell.

“It's been months now." The witch chastised. "You still can’t beat me, hero.” 

It was true. The bounty hunter was still absurdly weak. Though, there was something else different this time, and it distressed Beomgyu.

He covered his nose. He could sense the stench of the witches he had already hunted down on his scythe, but another smell was there. 

Taehyun was tired.

His blood was curdling and his strength had weakened immensely.

He was tiring his body out.

Even so, the scythewielder forced himself to stand up, buckling into a fighting stance, ready for another attack.

Beomgyu mused for a second.

He lifted his palm, and a surge of his power boomed through the foyer, blowing apart a gaping chasm through the wall of his church. From which the rose-stained windows exploded outward in a shower of broken shards.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Beomgyu groaned, satire on his tongue.

Beomgyu didn't know why he did it, but one thing's for sure. He had intentionally missed the hit.

“It wasn’t my fault you missed!”

“Get out, hero, show’s over.” Beomgyu stomped towards the white cloak and dragged him by the arm, pushing him outside the door, “And don’t come back!”

Beomgyu slumped against the lattice, huffing a sigh of relief as he managed to chase away the hero. It was finally quiet, even for a while. He stood up, snapped his fingers, and the church turned back into its original state with a little spell.

♤

“I can’t believe you’ve already replaced me.”

This startled Taehyun. Beomgyu appeared out of nowhere. He had summoned himself to the bounty hunter, coupled with a dull look on his face. He was bored. Taehyun was on a stake out, stalking the glass roof of the museum, hidden between the shadows.

“Who is it this time?” asked Beomgyu.

“A conjuror.”

Beomgyu chortles, “So you settle for lesser witches now? And here I thought you were finally going to defeat me.”

“I’m still looking for him.” said Taehyun. He saw a shadow, and he quietly dropped to the floor through the window pane.

Beomgyu followed him close behind. Little by little, the moonlight dimmed around him as they got further away from the windows. Taehyun careened to the left of the vast hall. Beomgyu kept up his pace to close the distance, and he turned around the corner. All of a sudden, pitch-black fell over him, and he had lost the silhouette of the hero.

Taehyun was gone.

“Kang Taehyun?”

A long corridor stretched out in front of him like an eerie invitation, and on its end, there was a large door that had faint light seeping through its crevice. Beomgyu blinked, and walked towards it, his footsteps light as he got nearer. He opened the door, and peeked inside. For several long breaths, Beomgyu waited, listening to nothing but silence, and he entered the room.

“Kang Taehyun?” Beomgyu called, but there was no answer. 

There was a sudden flicker of movement. Yet, he could not feel any presence. Beomgyu squinted to focus his vision, adjusting to the dark.

“Show yourself.” 

A man stepped out from the darkness.

It was a human.

Beomgyu couldn’t see him properly even under the pale light. His face was masked under the shadows, but Beomgyu could see it. The horrors on his face twisted in the dark. His skin took on the pallor of a toad, and his eyes felt cold even though it burned a violet ember from within.

“How did you get in here?” The man spat, gazing at Beomgyu with distaste, his black cloak billowing in the air. 

He couldn't sense his presence.

He couldn’t even smell his blood.

Beomgyu stepped back, and held up a hand in defense, ready to cast.

“You’re a witch.” The man uttered, his voice almost muffled, as saliva fell from his mouth.

“Why can’t I smell you, mortal?”

The man dared to move.

Beomgyu leapt forward, and casted a garnet fire from his blood, one of his strongest artifice, and struck it at the toad skin with all his might. 

The man shielded himself from the blow as he lifted his arms, but in one sudden motion, Beomgyu swooped down right at him, casting another surge from his left hand and struck it across his face.

“Who are you?” Beomgyu reeled backward. He could feel his senses dull as vertigo gripped his stomach.

The toad skin raised his hand, whispering under his breath, and with a touch of his fingertips, a wave of power surged out of him like violet flames. The blaze devoured Beomgyu and it simply disappeared.

“Did you just hex me?” Beomgyu steadied his aim, wobbling as he tried to regain himself, fighting the urge to slip away into the depths of unconsciousness. He could still hear, but he could control none of his body. He felt weak, and Beomgyu had never been weak. 

The toad skin seemed to muse, for his hand lowered, but he made no answer.

“Who gave you the right to hex me?” Dread pulsed in Beomgyu’s veins. The red glow on his arm was flickering out and he could feel gravity pulling him down as if he were standing on the edge of a precipice, moments before hurtling towards the void. 

"Answer me!"

The black cloak stepped out into the light. Beomgyu could see the long, jagged scar from where he had slashed across his left eye, blood dripping from the gash.

Their eyes held for a moment, and in the fractions of those seconds, he simply vanished. 

He was gone.

♤

Beomgyu found himself thinking about what happened that night. 

It felt like a dream, a haze of thoughts that simply became a reoccuring figment. The man could not simply have been human. He had no smell. He had no aura. He was just there. As if he didn't exist at all. Beomgyu's eyes flickered back to Taehyun, who was prancing around the antechamber, playing with one of his black cats.

“You look happy,” said Beomgyu.

“Oh yeah?” Taehyun raised an eyebrow, “The guild assigned me to a toptier creed. The bounty was high, so I accepted it. I’m still awaiting for orders.”

“That’s good then.” Beomgyu hummed, and he motioned for the feline to come over to his lap.

“What happened last night? You just disappeared.”

“I left. I forgot to feed her.” Beomgyu found himself saying, the lie flowed easily from his tongue. He combed through the cat’s black fur, and it purred into his gentle touch. “Did you find your conjuror?”

“It was a dead end.”

Taehyun let out a retreating sigh.

“Hyung, can I ask you something?” He spurred, hesitance showed on his shoulders, but he continued, “Are you alone?”

“I have my coven with me.” 

“No, like family, hyung.” said Taehyun.

“I’m an orphan,  _ hero _ .” Beomgyu only smiled at him, and he could see the moment regret took over his face. Beomgyu’s voice was soft, but he could hear it quivering when he spoke again, “I lost my parents in a cursefire.”

“I thought higher witches couldn’t burn, hyung?”

“Cursefires can, hero. It’s as deadly as to a lesser witch’s pyre. Though, the only thing is, cursefires come from witches themselves. Aside from the witch hunts that you humans have conjured up, there are witches who would burn their own kin to ashes. That’s why we live in fear, hero, hiding away to pure insanity. We fight to save ourselves.”

“But why, hyung? Why would they do that?”

“They were turned, hero. They carry an even greater evil in their blood and it manifests slowly into their minds. They will soon take pleasure in causing pain and death, and they will live solely to bring devastation upon us all.”

Taehyun reached for Beomgyu’s hand. He could feel it trembling under his touch.

“We cannot know when we might turn. This black magic cannot fully be controlled when it has been awakened. Witches and warlocks alike will succumb to its power, consume everything in their sight, and would wreak havoc in its place. Our greatest fear are not witch hunters, hero, but ourselves.”

Beomgyu tightened the hold on his handas the sinister memory of his past came over him. Beomgyu prolonged, blinking at his cat, meowing weakly from its sleep.

“That’s why I built this sanctuary, hero. To protect them. And even though they have slave marks carved on their skin, I treat them as my own flesh and blood.” Beomgyu paused, before demurring, “They’re all I have.”

“I’m sorry, hyung.”

“It’s okay.” Beomgyu huffed, and he looked at him.

The boy’s hand didn't leave his.

Beomgyu felt lighter, as he poured out the words from his blackened heart, “I’m just afraid.”

He hadn’t realized that he told Taehyun everything, half of which he had never told anyone else.

♤

“What are you doing here?” Beomgyu hissed when he saw the hero on his doorstep. His cloak was stained with red.

Taehyun stumbled forward, and Beomgyu caught him. He wrapped an arm around his waist and the other clamped tight on his gaping wound, where a few drops of blood hit startlingly on the floor.

“I didn’t know where else to go.” Taehyun managed to choke out, before collapsing into unforgiving arms.

It was almost midnight when Taehyun opened his eyes, and he blinked. He was curled into a bed, tucked underneath soft blankets. He sat upright, his wounds were all patched up, but the lacerations on his back still panged. 

“You’re awake.” Beomgyu called. 

He realized he was inside Beomgyu's chambers, and he was laying on his bed of red velvet silk sheets. He looked around. The rows of bookshelves that decked the room were towering over him. The cupboards were crammed with amber colored jars full of oddities, powdered talons, newt legs, and dried poison ivy. The walls were doused with paraffin lanterns and it filled the bedchamber with drowsy candlelight. Several volumes of parchment were piled high on his table and books were floating around the room in a sea of magic.

It was so much different than the gallows of the church. Taehyun’s fascination earned a soft chuckle from Beomgyu.

“What?”

“I didn’t take you to be so..” Taehyun trailed off, finding the right word, “..cozy.”

“I’m–” Beomgyu stated, tight-lipped, “I’m a person too, hero. I have taste.”

His eyes followed Beomgyu across the room as he reached for a jar on the top of his cupboard, but he couldn’t touch it, even on his tiptoes, so he used his magic to get it from the shelf. Taehyun laughed under his breath.

“I really want you to die right now.” glared Beomgyu.

Beomgyu returned to his kitchen, and dropped some figs on the bubbling pot, producing an ominous green mist, and then he turned to Taehyun, who was grimacing boorishly. 

“Let me clean your back.” 

Beomgyu brought a dampened cloth under the lukewa rm water, and approached Taehyun. Beomgyu wiped down his wounds, and he could feel the hero flinch from the slight pain. His eyes fluttered to the gashes that were marring on his skin, “Who did this to you?” 

“I was after the creed the guild had given me. It was a high warlock, and he summoned his serpentine to come after me instead. And I lost him. I swear I could defeat her, hyung, but she tried to beguile me, and somehow I got caught up in a trance.”

Beomgyu scorned, twitching, his voice filled with zeal.

“You were seduced, hero, and you fell right into the temptation.” 

Taehyun narrowed his eyes at him, “She had me by the throat, hyung, then my back got clawed.”

Beomgyu scoffs, “I could do so much worse.”

He did not realize that he was putting more pressure than necessary on Taehyun's wound, and it stinged.

“Ow!”

“I can’t believe you let her hurt you.” Beomgyu murmured, holding Taehyun’s coarse hand on his palm, the chilblain-scarred lines reminiscent of the hero’s dedication to train himself, even if he got hurt, even if his chances of survival were precarious and uncertain.

Beomgyu smiled at his scars.

“The only person allowed to hurt you is me.” Beomgyu grumbled, and abruptly covered his mouth when he realized what he just said. He looked at Taehyun, hoping he didn’t hear it. Taehyun was just smiling. He shuffled to the edge of the bed, attempting to stand up. 

“Sit down.” Beomgyu ordered, ignoring his grunts of protest, “You’re not going anywhere until your wounds have been healed.”

“Why couldn’t you just heal me instantly?"

“I can’t just do that.” Beomgyu guffawed in disbelief, “Serpent bites are not within my threshold, hero. You should be grateful I even helped you. You could’ve died.”

“I’m glad that you helped me then.” Taehyun said, resting his head on Beomgyu’s shoulders. The witch tensed, and Taehyun pulled away before he could say anything, flashing a mischievous grin. Beomgyu flicked his forehead and stood up, making his way back to his cauldron. He mumbled curses under his breath as he felt a blush creep its way on his cheeks, pouring the brew on a goblet.

“Here, drink this essence." said Beomgyu, "It will tend to your wounds.”

Taehyun looked down at the chalice, blenching at the murky brew that was almost a rotten brown. He brought it to his mouth. He sniffed the concoction and almost gagged from the sharp, acrid smell that hit his nostrils.

“Now, drink up and rest.” Beomgyu cooed innocently, helping him drink in one gulp, “I have a matter to attend to.”

Taehyun fell right into a deep slumber, within seconds of drinking the brew. Beomgyu had secretly filled it with a sleeping potion.

He casted a summoning spell. A magic circle appeared out of thin air, glimmering in dark red, and a gargoyle flew out of it.

“Did you find her?”

“Yes, sire.” It said as it kneeled before him.

“Good.” Beomgyu rasped, staring another glance at the hero, “Take me to her.”

Beomgyu found himself being transported to an abandoned building. There was not a single soul in sight, only the lingering stench of adder and snake skin.

He opened his palm and he could feel his power thrumming on the tip of his fingers, and with a hint of resentment, he clenched his fists and the ground beneath him tremors. The pillars cracked into themselves and the floor was destroyed. Beomgyu was ravaging everything he could see until all that was left of the building was a pile of concrete. He levitates down, the scent of adder growing even more pungent as he got nearer. Through the wreckage, the sound of debris falling down on metal echoed through the basement, and from the ruins, it revealed a lamia, a half-woman and half-serpent, who was crushed underneath the debris.

Beomgyu was standing on the rubble, exuding the scent of death. He lifts his hands at his side, palms up, and his eyes suddenly turn black. He bites his lip, the taste of blood spiking his lust. Black fire rose from his body, and slowly, it swirled around him, staining it red.

He aimed a surge on the serpentine, and it engulfed her in flames, a scream curdled in her throat as she was thrashed into the ground.

Beomgyu approached her as she laid there, barely moving. Beomgyu noticed the familiar occult of a slave mark carved on her chest as the fire disappeared.

“You’re a marked slave.” Beomgyu realized, before raising another finger,  “Where is your master?”

The lamia hissed, her scales rattled and she bared her claws. She suddenly lunged at him, reaching for his throat. Then, with a burst of red light, she was thrown backward onto the wall. Beomgyu stood there, unfazed.

“I have a message for him.” He continued, eyes turning into slits, his patience wearing thin, his arm still outstretched, “Tell him, if he touches the scythewielder again, I will personally come after him myself.”

He formed hundreds of needles out of his stark blood, red threads grew around him, and the needles sank, one after another, leaving cleaves on her lower body as she let out a convulsing shrill of pain, her eyes bulged as she reared her head to the side.The snake was powerless under him, her double eyelids cower, grunting as she slithered away from him.

“You don’t touch him again.” He said, words doused with anger, looking down on his prey whose skin was already covered in red threads. He kicked the trembling body of the serpent beneath him, limping weakly as a rag doll, before saying another word.

“Understand?”

He manipulated the needlework, accumulated it on his hand and it quickly blackened, forming into a scimitar. 

“You peasant, do you understand?”

Beomgyu seethed as he pressed the hilt of the sword against her porcelain skin, and she hisses weakly in surrender.

“I thought so.” Beomgyu smiles vivaciously, letting her go, and he vanishes into the air.

♤

“Where are you taking me, hero?”

"I'm taking you out."  They were in the citadel, and Taehyun had brought him to look around. 

“You don’t get out of your coven that much, hyung. You look like a ghost.”

Beomgyu was covered from head to toe in all black, where a dark lace veil fell on his face. He looked at a mirror, and it was true, his skin was pale as an apparition. He rarely ever went under the sun. Human territory was just as dangerous, even if his smell was masked since bounty hunters were still lurking everywhere.

Taehyun brought him to a blacksmith. Beomgyu stared in astonishment at the smiths, who were forging down wrought iron on their anvils and scorching the crucible that was burning on their embers. Beomgyu could barely even lift a hammer without the help of his powers.

“Let’s go, hyung.” Taehyun said, with a giddy smile.

They looked around the square, passing through a maze of trading stalls. The hustle and bustle of the crowd and the whinnies of horses shuffled through his ears as they ambled past.

Beomgyu spots a potions shop, squashed between two leaning slumhouses. Wisteria vines climbed around its brick walls, and the shop sign was planked to the wall, etched with bold, cursive letters.

“We have to look inside.” Beomgyu said excitedly, not realizing he had mindlessly interlocked his fingers with Taehyun, and dived into the parlor.

The quaint shop had a deep color of royal blue and gold on its interior, and it smelled like wild clary. There was a wide array of potion bottles that filled the shelves, swirling in bold reds and yellows. He wandered between the mantle pieces, filled to the brim like dead soldiers, barren with time. 

Beomgyu had never entered a place that had a collection as vast as his before. Well, he couldn’t say so for certain, since he had not ventured through human threshold that much as he only obtained his potion through his own, through foraging and alchemy. He was so engrossed in sniffing out the jars and tinkering with the potions that he hadn’t realized that Taehyun left him alone in the parlor and was just standing outside, waiting for him.

“Where did you go?” asked Beomgyu, leaning on the doorway.

“I got the thing I made from the metalsmith.” he said. Taehyun caught a glimpse of what the witch was hiding behind his back. His brows furrowed.

He was carrying a wooden basket filled with dried leaves and elixirs. 

“Are you going to pay for all of that?” He asked, arms crossed. Beomgyu’s face went down as he realized.

“I don’t have your money.” He sniffed, pouting. Taehyun sighed, fumbling inside his satchel for coins and Beomgyu’s face lightened up.

“Thank you.” He hummed joyfully, before going back inside the parlor to pay for the ingredients.

They sauntered even more across the citadel, looking at the antique displays and ateliers. Soon, the sun had already set, spreading its largess into a maddened sky. They reached the end of town, overlooking the horizon. 

“Did you have fun?” Taehyun asked.

Beomgyu nodded, staring at the blemish of a new dusk.

“Hyung, come here.”

Beomgyu stood in place as Taehyun stared at him, brash to hide his nervousness on his shoulders. He wrapped his arm around Beomgyu’s neck and pulled him close. From what seemed to be an embrace, it gave Beomgyu little space to breathe and he melted at the feeling of his body pressed against his. Taehyun pulled away.

“It suits you.” 

Beomgyu looked down, and he almost gasped. A necklace rested on his chest, its pendant was a translucent glass of carnelian red, and the gem was embedded with a golden bezel on its top. It looked like it was shining a deep ruby against his pale white skin. Taehyun smiled, a little too meek, yet so gentle, that Beomgyu’s heart fluttered.

“You got this for me?’

“I had it made days ago, hyung.” Taehyun said, rubbing the nape of his neck, “What do you think?

“It’s  _ beautiful _ .” 

The necklace resembled a heart and how blood pulsed through its chambers. The bloodwitch in him was so  _ happy. _

"This must have cost a fortune. What about your bounty?"

"It doesn't matter, hyung."

Taehyun gave a boxy grin, and another one of his taunts.

“Now, you’ll be reminded of me.”

♤

“Why are you going out of your way to help the bounty hunter, sire?”

Beomgyu’s sycophant was escorting him, vile with oversized ears, skin almost stone, and a disfigured hunched back. He tracked the scent of the serpent, and followed her until they ended up in a warehouse.

“Silence, glutton." Beomgyu glowered.

“I can see you have developed feelings for him, sire.”

Beomgyu scoffed, "That’s atrocious."

The sycophant gave him a look when he didn't continue.

"I do not have feelings for him, glutton. He is immature and boorish. He could stand for a jester in a fool's parade. He’s set his eyes out on beheading me, might I add.” Beomgyu berated, softly turning into a hushed voice. His hand went to his neck, where his necklace sat as he recalled what happened that day. Beomgyu hadn’t noticed he was smiling to himself. 

“He doesn’t seem to have any intention of coming after your head, sire.” 

“You’ve gotten bolder with the presence of the bounty hunter, glutton.” Beomgyu hissed.

“Yes, sire, and the whole coven agrees that you’ve gone soft.”

Beomgyu glared at him.

"I will turn you back into stone once we're home.”

“Now, focus.” Beomgyu hears a long-drawned hiss, and the serpent was on the move. He hid in the darkness, back against the wall, and he peeked.

There was another figure in the room. The snake was speaking to him, their voices muffled. Beomgyu reclined further back, and he caught a glimpse of his face. It glinted a sense of unease in his stomach. He got nearer, focusing his vision to discern his features. And soon, the color drained away from his face as the realization dawned over him.

It was the man from the museum.

Beomgyu could never forget his grotesque face, creases threading his toad skin, his pallid wrinkly arms, and his eyes that burned to the back of his skull. And his scar. The scar that Beomgyu had given him was still fresh. It was a wide, sunken cicatrice, snaking through his left eye. 

Beomgyu leaned even further to hear their chatter. That was when he could smell it; it was almost weak, yet so distinct, that he could recognize it even from a distance away. The stench bore like a foreboding agony seeping into his bones, and the maltrocious power that emanated from it reeked of peril. 

His instincts flared, telling him to escape. Beomgyu had to get away. He had to, because there was only one thing in the world that wretched of madness.

The blood of a cursewitch.

He bore the foul odor that would make even the strongest of witches cower in fear. That night, the man Beomgyu had faced wasn’t mortal; only masked as one. That could only explain why his senses had dulled and how he momentarily lost control of his power when he had been hexed. 

Beomgyu could sense the unease from the sycophant, trembling in fear, from the presence of the cursewitch that grew stronger. Suddenly, he stumbled backward, making a small clang against the concrete that went unnoticeable.

Beomgyu shot up, and instantly grabbed him and flicked his wrists. 

It was a miracle that they even got out of there.

♤

“I have to find him.” 

Beomgyu was pacing back and forth in the room, still agonizing about yesternight’s events. The sycophant had told Taehyun everything. Beomgyu swore that he would sever that blabbermouth’s tongue after this. He was uneasy, and he wouldn’t tell the bounty hunter another word.

“I have to find him, hyung.” Taehyun repeated.

“No. I forbid you to.” 

“What?” His forehead creased from his frown, “Why?”

Beomgyu was silent. It was hideous; how he was acting, but it did scare him. He didn’t realize how strong the enemy could have been. He was too strong, that not even the likes of a high witch such as himself would be able to wound him, let alone defeat him. For the first time in his life, Beomgyu felt terror. It was an unnerving terror, waiting to be released to bring chaos after being trapped from its pandora’s box.

“You don’t trust me.”

Beomgyu winced, “As a matter of fact, I don’t.” 

“Why won’t you trust me?”

“Are you insane? You’ve been picking fights with villains you aren’t ready for and you end up here, bleeding half to death! And you expect me to let you go?” 

“You’re just scared.”

“Why would I be scared, hero, it doesn’t make sense.“

“You’re just scared _for_ me.” Taehyun whispered, almost sounding disquietingly. Beomgyu groaned. The hero’s stubbornness was a truth he had never truly grasped.

“I’m not going to forgive you if you die, hero.” Beomgyu warned.

“I won’t die.” soothed Taehyun, “I promise you.”

Beomgyu was seething, but there was nothing he could do. When the bounty hunter made up his mind, it was almost irrevocable. 

“Fine, if you’re going to be like that, don’t expect me to help you!”

♤

Beomgyu ended up helping him. 

He was following him and he hid a distance away from where the bounty hunter had positioned himself. It was easy to track down the lamia, even for the human. Unknowingly, she led him straight into their lair.

Taehyun crept the walls of the coven, hiding behind the columns, obscured by the dark. Beomgyu followed him quietly. The gallery was silent, almost seemingly empty. It reeked of adder, signaling the presence of the snake, but Beomgyu couldn’t smell the cursewitch in the air.

“Where are you?” Taehyun called into the empty church.

Beomgyu forgot. The white cloaked hero was as foolish as he was stubborn.

The cursewitch stepped out from the shadows, whispering,  “You found me.”

He was drifting in the air, surrounded by a tremendous aura and his amethyst eyes were turning black. Beomgyu was edging to come out from where he hid. 

“I’ve heard about you, bounty hunter. I’ve seen you and your little witch.”

Taehyun seethed, "You're the warlock from before."

The cursewitch curtsied, "Therefore, I am."

He procured summoning circles out of thin air, like constellations in the night, and one by one, out came his serpents, about fifty of them, towering over the scythewielder from where he stood.

“It’s a trap.” Beomgyu whispered to himself.

The creatures surrounded Taehyun. Their snakelike faces bared their sharp fangs as they charged towards him.

Beomgyu stepped out, approaching the swarm. The symbols on his arms bled red, glowing like ember, and he casted. A sliver of rope appeared out of thin air with a sleight of his hand, and it snaked around the lamias, binding them tightly together as they were lifted off their feet. They writhed through the air, thrashing from the distortion. Their voices shrieked in an evil orchestra as they slowly faded to unconsciousness.

“What are you doing here?” Taehyun bellows, holding off another blow from a serpent.

“You’re going to die, hero.” Beomgyu yelled, running towards the bounty hunter from across the other side of the church.

“Don’t interfere.” The toad-skinned witch boomed, and struck the space between them like thunder. Beomgyu was smashed down to the dirt, and he was suddenly engulfed into flames. His body crumpled, insensible, and the violence of it all caused the fire to sputter and die. It scalded his skin. He could feel his powers have been hexed, starting to weaken.

Taehyun charged towards the toad skin, and his blade clangored with the dance of violet light.

Beomgyu dug his fingers into the dirt to anchor himself. He stood, groveling, clutching his face as his head ached. 

Beomgyu utters a gospel, whispering softly with the rustling of the wind and the breaking of the earth underneath his feet. Flames reared from his hands, and he struck it at the witch.

The cursed skin swooped down as low as to avoid it, but it hit him and sent him reeling backward. His scar opened up, from where blood dripped from his head and his face turned into a scowl. He formed another spear and threw it at Taehyun, and he shielded it with his scythe, the sound of wrenching iron, louder this time, blasted through the macrocosm. 

It was two against one, but they could barely even subdue him.

The cursewitch roared, and from him, erupted a relapse of blue-violet fire, its shrill and deafening scorch billowed outwards. Taehyun lurched himself to the ground, avoiding the flames, but Beomgyu, unable to move, was caught up in the blast.

“Hyung!” 

The walls of the church were obliterated from the impact and cobble rained upon them. Beomgyu was crawling as his skin burned from the holocaust. The sharp pain on his core convulsed straight into his body, and his heart blustered. The fire surrounded him as though they were alive, sentient like stabbing tongues that flared.

And then, out of nowhere, the cursewitch cackled.

“I can’t wait to finish you off.”

Spires of dark fire burned around him, spearing the black opal night. Then, another flow of magic besieged upon Taehyun like javelins, raining down on him like a thunderstorm.

“The dark power is going to devour him." said Beomgyu.

The cursewitch screeched. Dark flames roared up, and wreathed around him until a strange cloudbank circled the darkening sky. It was unlike anything Beomgyu had ever seen. 

“It’s begun.” Beomgyu whispered to himself. 

The cursed magic has been awakened.

“It’s begun. Run, hero, you’re not going to survive that!” 

Beomgyu pushed himself to stand, leaping over the marauding trail of flame that charred his skin, and ran through the rainfall of hellfire.

“Run, hero!” Beomgyu yelled as a haunting memory stole through him. He ran and ran, yelling at the white cloak in desperation, trying to get him away. 

Scarcely, Beomgyu caught a glimpse of the witch, bounded through the air. He raised his hand and from it, came an exhaust, white-hot and violet, and elongated into a long, colossal spear, burning violently on his palm.

“Kang Taehyun!”

The cursewitch brought his hand down, and there was a deathly hush. The world stopped still on its axis, and the seconds slowed with it. 

Silent.

Unmoving.

He swore he could see the spear. But there was nothing he could do to avoid the onslaught.

He was too late. 

The spear shot like a bullet through the air and it pierced right through Taehyun’s chest, and anguish reigned down on him. His legs gave way under him and he collapsed to the ground. 

Beomgyu drops to his knees, agony in his heart, and he shouts. As the world burned around him, the pain in his heart peaked, and a surge of what was left of his power sent red flames flying. He could barely hear his scream over his own misery, obscured by the blood throbbing in his ears. 

As he saw Taehyun lay gasping on the floor, it felt like he could never breathe again. 

“No, no, no!” He scurried in erratic breaths, heaving and panting.

He crouched protectively over him. Ugly dread settled in his stomach as he could feel the scythewielder’s strength wither away. 

“You’re not allowed to die, hero. I do not allow you to!” Beomgyu shook his body with rigor, focusing his mind to heal the wound, but his head only ached as his magic gradually disappeared, “Not now, please!”

It was the first time for the bloodwitch to despise the stench of blood.

Soon, his vision blurred, as he fought back the tears that started forming on his eyes. 

“You promised me you would have to defeat me first.” Beomgyu’s voice quivered. “You promised me you would make it out of here alive.”

Beomgyu shook his limp shoulders, his lips were turning even more off-color. It was the last of his elemental could hold off the curse before it sucked his powers dry.

“Goddamn it, hero, you promised!”

Beomgyu dropped his hands. His gray eyes swelled up and tears streaked down his face, his lips were trembling and his hands clenched into shaking fists. 

He couldn’t lose him. 

He would do anything.

_ Anything. _

Just to bring him back.

Beomgyu placed his head on his chest, until he couldn’t hear his breathing anymore.

Taehyun was _dead._

They lay there in silence, only broken by his cries, and sadness took over him. There were actions he could never undo. He could feel death standing over them, waiting to claim his prize. Beomgyu pleaded, to himself and to cruel fate, forcing himself to rekindle his magic, but all he could feel was his powers draining away. The faint red light of the symbols engraved on his arms faded, until finally all of it was black.

“Please.” Beomgyu begged, a burn lumped on his throat as he struggled to breathe, “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” 

Please, let me go back and save him.

_ Please. _

Beomgyu couldn’t hear anything, only his own heartbeat, echoing alongside his fading pleas that fell on deaf ears. He touched his necklace, dark red as the hero's blood, and he buried his head to his chest, sobbing down into broken cries.

With each passing moment, the world was becoming less real. 

It was his fault.

Everything was his fault.

Everything transpired because of him.

_ It was his curse. _

Every single person who had the misfortune of knowing him had ended up dead.

If only he hadn’t brought him here. If only he hadn't gotten close to him. If only they hadn't met.

Then, Taehyun would still be alive.

Beomgyu knew, and yet–

He could feel a pat on his head. 

“You’re a-as melodramatic as ever.” 

Taehyun coughed out. He took in Beomgyu’s shallow breaths and frightened eyes. The villain held his breath as tears spring forth, and he stumbled forward into his arms. Taehyun caressed his hand to his face as he broke down.

“I’ll protect you.” Taehyun laughs breathily, “I always will.”

Beomgyu stammered, tightening his hold on Taehyun’s hand that felt warm against his cheeks. He wanted to say something.

“How many times have I almost died for you?” Taehyun whispered. He smiles at Beomgyu, languidly placing his hand on his chin, wiping off the blood on the corner of his lips, “And you still question my loyalty.” 

“I thought I lost y-you.”

Taehyun stood up, and Beomgyu stared up at him as he cried.

“I only have one weakness, witch.” 

Taehyun leaned his forehead against Beomgyu's, closing his eyes.

“And it’s  _ you _ .” 

The cursewitch stared down at the sight before him in disdain, snorting a derisive laughter that echoed through the night.

“You are conspiring with a villain.” He crowed.

“How about it?” Taehyun drawled in strife, and a surge of vicious anger flowed through him.

“It’s blasphemous to our kind, hero; your witch shall burn on his pyre.” He spat, drooling, decaying teeth protruding from his mouth. 

His lips whispered evil incantation, barely moving his rigid jaw.

Taehyun stood there, his white waxen cloak rippling through the wind, carrying the death god’s sickle behind him. Taehyun stabbed his snathe into the ground. Beomgyu could feel his powers on his body, passing through his scythe. He could almost see his lifeblood sunder across the blade. 

Beomgyu was  _ sure _ .

He  _ felt _ it. He felt the moment when his life thread have been severed.

Taehyun _ died. _

Beomgyu didn’t lose his powers.

It only reincarnated.

It reincarnated, and it resurrected him back to life.

He held a power beyond his own, a power beyond the reach of any man. Humans would fear death if they knew in that moment that nothing could ever get away from him, for he was the grim reaper of this world. The living angel of death.

Taehyun wasted no time. He steeled himself, and attacked the witch, coming for his life.

The witch tried to dodge, but the hilt of his snaith caught him by the arm, slicing through his skin. Dark smoke emitted from the wound. Taehyun sidestepped back, and he watched the toad skin stagger down, violently coughing out black.

“You’ve gotten stronger, human.” The witch coaxed, panting heavily. “I can feel the traitor's power coursing through your veins.”

His arm was taut, prepared to raise. His black diamond eyes ebbed fully until all of it had become dark fire. He unearthed a tremendous power from his core. He swerved out of the way as it bludgeoned down on him, cracking the ground from where it had struck.

Taehyun ran through the rainfall, and wielded his scythe. Death was following him close behind. He countered with an upward slash to his throat, his blade only clashed through reverberating metal. The witch had conjured a sword from his hand to block it.

Taehyun pushed hard, leaning his weight into the blow. He shoved him back, and without any second longer, he leapt right at him as the clangor of the sickle roared on his hands.

Beomgyu saw the moment the scythe had bled red as he brought it down, slashing it across the cursewitch’s body and finally, it met flesh and bone.

His piercing screech rumbled like lightning, and then suddenly, his body dissipates into black smoke, and the carcasses of adder shriveled away with him. The perturbation in the air was gone, and the dense bedlam of the slaughter waned. The only thing left was the silence that laid on the red-stained ground.

It was over.

“Didn’t I tell you I’d protect you?” Taehyun looked at the sky, turning to Beomgyu.

He was still crying.

A light chuckle slipped out of Taehyun as he kneeled in front of his witch, “You’re still as beautiful as the first time I saw you.”

Beomgyu smiled beyond belief, “And you’re the only one stupid enough to hit on me even in the brink of death.” 

“I know.” 

Taehyun pulled his body closer with the blunt edge of his scythe, their lips almost touching. Taehyun looks down at Beomgyu’s jet black eyes, his arm wrapped around his waist, his body warm, his smile reassuring.

“I promised you, witch. I will fight for you until you have been defeated by my hands.”

He looked at Taehyun, his white cloak was smeared with blood.

“You have already conquered me, hero. I was fighting a battle I could never have won.”

Taehyun stroked his white hair, tangled in spirals, and pulled him into his chest. Beomgyu could hear his heart beating with his own. He was alive. Taehyun was  _ alive _ . He just wanted to stay there forever. He didn't know a magic spell for this, but if this wasn't magic then he couldn't say what it was.

“You are an angel, Kang Taehyun.” 

Truly, he was an angel that had fallen down on earth, and his wounds bled from where his wings had been clipped on his back. 

“I surrender.” Beomgyu continues, “I’ve already been defeated.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! Leave me a comment if you'd like!
> 
> This is my txt Taegyu version of "Witchlands"
> 
> [my twitter ](https://twitter.com/tdctracy?s=09)


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